English and WASPs were racist as fuck against the Irish and they hated Catholics in general.

>If the Irish had the 'right' to independence they would possess it. If they ever gain it, they will possess it - until they lose it again. England has the right to rule because she does ... It is not chance, but racial superiority, which has made the Briton supreme. Why have not the Irish conquered and colonized the earth if they be so deserving of regard? They are brainless canaille.
H.P. Lovecraft